Monday, February 13, 2006

I have listened to a wonderful audio rendition of selections from Bhagavad-Gita. The text is from my favorite translation, the one by Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood.Unfortunately, the cassette itself, does not seem available on the market. I have a suspicion, this is the amazon reference. I am not sure.

For future reference, here are the details.

Caedmon cassette CDL 51249

Selections from the Bhagavad-GitaThe Song of GodRead by Zia MohyeddinIntroduction read by Christopher Isherwood.

==A couple of web searches on Caedmon and Bhagavad-Gita reveals that most of this information is authentic.

The google search leads to the following link from NYtimes: (article titled: FROM 'GENESIS' TO 'JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR' from May 10, 1981)

There is, though, a hypnotically compelling reading of selections from the Bhagavad-Gita on Caedmon (TC 1249, cassette CDL 51249) by Zia Moheyddin. The translation, in poetry and prose, is the celebrated one by Christopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavananda. Isherwood himself provided a thoughtful introduction to this reading, which can be followed with the aid of the New American Library paperback of the whole book. On this remarkable recording, as Krishna explains to Arjuna why all action should be performed in a spirit of non-attachment -in Isherwood's words, 'without desire and without fear'' - the very purpose of life in Hindu terms becomes luminously clear.

Daily Inspiration Mailing List

If you are interested in getting short Vedantic messages as "daily inspiration", please let me know by leaving a comment on this blog, with your email address. (I will edit the comment removing the email address to save you from spam.) Here are the ones that I currently run.
Bhagavad Gita: The summum-bonum, the summary as well as encyclopedia of the entire Vedanta, recorded as a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, in 700 verses and 18 chapters. This selection is just a collection of 42 quotes from the book (see this post for all of them). A sample message is
2.16 naasato vidyate bhaavo naabhaavo vidyate sataH
Of the unreal there is no being; the real has no nonexistence. Ashtavakra Gita: A highly recommended Advaitic text, recorded as a conversation between the sage Ashtavakra and his disciple King Janaka. A sample message is:
The liberated person is not averse to the senses and nor is he attached to them. He enjoys himself continually with an unattached mind in both achievement and non-achievement. 17.17Adi Shankaracharya's prasna uttara ratna malika: A short work by Shri Adi Shankara, of 100+ verses, each containing a question and answer. The translation I follow is by Swami Prabhavananda. A sample message is:
60. What are the duties of a spiritual aspirant? To keep company with the holy, to renounce all thoughts of me and mine, to devote himself to God. Ramana Maharshi's verses on reality: This is a translation of a short work of forty verses by Ramana Maharshi. The translation I follow is by Shri Alan Jacob. A sample message is:
34. Disputing the nature of the Self without attempting Self-realization merely constitutes delusion.
Without trying to realize in the heart that reality which is the true nature of all, and without trying to abide in it, to engage in disputations as to whether the reality exists or not, or is real or not, denotes delusion born of ignorance.
sanskRita vyavahaara sahasrii: This is a mailing list for sending 6 random sentences selected from simple Sanskrit. The source I use is this (a PDF link). A sample message is:
bahu sundaraM asti kila etad.h ? It is very good, isn't it ?
dIpAvalI shubhAshayAH | Wish you a happy Deepavali.
eshhaH saN^ketaH kutra iti jAnAti vA ? | Could you possibly tell me where this address/place is ?
shvaH etad.h samyak.h paThitvA Agantavyam.h | Read this well when you come tomorrow.
adya tu virAmaH |Today is a holiday, anyway.
tasya ArogyaM kathaM asti ? How is his health ?
gItA anvaya sandhi vigraha : This is a purely Sanskrit mailing list, which send a random verse/verses from Bhagavad Gita, along with its anvaya and saMdhi vigraha. A sample message is:
yatra yogeshvaraH kR^iShNo yatra paartho dhanurdharaH .
tatra shriirvijayo bhuutirdhruvaa niitirmatirmama .. 18.78
yatra yogeshvaraH kR^iShNaH yatra paarthaH dhanurdharaH .
tatra shriiH vijayaH bhuutiH dhruvaa niitiH matiH mama .. 18.78
yatra yogeshvaraH kR^iShNaH yatra dhanurdharaH paarthaH\,
tatra shriiH\, vijayaH\, bhuutiH\, dhruvaa niitiH ##(##cha iti##)##
mama matiH ##(##asti##)## .
This has been made into a google groups http://groups.google.com/group/gita-anvaya-sandhi-vigrahaPostscript comment: Here are some links to subscribe yourself to the mailing lists:
http://groups.google.com/group/gita-nitya-sadhana-sutrahttp://groups.google.com/group/vishnu-sahasranama-mananahttp://groups.google.com/group/gita-anvaya-sandhi-vigrahahttp://groups.google.com/group/shankara-prashna-uttara-ratna-malika
The honor code for the mailing lists is the following: the mails would be read the day on which they were received!